Energy shielding
armor's shields glow after taking damage.]] Energy shields are an important technology that is often used to briefly protect military personnel from harm. Both human and Covenant infantry are known to make use of energy shielding in combat. The shielding essentially acts as regenerative armor, providing personnel with an extra layer of protection, but collapsing after taking multiple shots. Once a combatant stops taking damage, their shields can begin to regenerate; until the shields recharge, however, the combatant's health is directly threatened. Energy shielding is more vulnerable to plasma-based weaponry than to ballistic weaponry. Covenant weapons, such as Plasma Pistols, will deplete shielding more rapidly than human weapons, such as the UNSC Assault Rifle. Some forces are so powerful that they can fully deplete a subject's shielding and damage their health; such forces include rockets, grenades, and sniper rounds. Spartans and Elites can also kill a shielded target instantly via assassination. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the strength of the player's shields is shown on the HUD, in the top-right corner of the screen, above the health bar. In Halo 2, it is in the bottom-left above the Motion Tracker. In Halo 3, it is in the top-center of the screen; in Halo: Reach, the health bar is shown beneath it. MJOLNIR shielding has become increasingly efficient since Halo: Combat Evolved. Human energy shielding Armor adorned by the Master Chief.]] Humans started using energy shields with the production of the MJOLNIR Mark V powered assault armor; the shielding was later used in the Mark VI. The UNSC based the technology on a reverse-engineered Jackal Personal Arm Shield. However, MJOLNIR shielding is considerably weaker than the Jackal shield from which it is derived; this is because the shield's energy is dispersed over an entire body. Interestingly, when the human shield takes damage, it glows gold instead of the Covenant blue; the color difference is believed to be because of the difference in the two technologies. Although in gameplay Elite and MJOLNIR shields are the same, in Halo: The Fall of Reach, it states that MJOLNIR shields are more powerful. Although the shields of MJOLNIR armor are very resilient, they can be stripped in seconds if the wearer isn't careful. Plasma weapons are especially effective against MJOLNIR and Elite shielding systems. This seems to be a natural weakness of energy shielding. Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols, and Plasma Cannons are all very good at depleting the MJOLNIR's shields. The UNSC's most recent breakthrough in energy shield development came with the creation of the Bubble Shield, which is far superior to MJOLNIR shielding. It was not incorporated in later models of MJOLNIR armor due to monetary reasons. A large-scale version of the design may provide protection for UNSC Military Bases.Halo 3, level Crow's Nest; Tech: "Shielding failing. They're down and charging." Despite huge advances into land-based shielding, the only form of energy shielding that is available for UNSC spaceships is the energy shields on the experimental craft Sabre. Covenant energy shielding energy shielding.]] Unlike the humans, the Covenant have a very extensive knowledge of shielding equipment and its uses. Examples of this excellent understanding can be found throughout the Covenant military. Elite Personal Energy Shields, Jackal Point Defense Gauntlets, Brute Power Armor, Stationary Shield Generators, Portable Shield Generators, Shield Doors, and Starship Shields are just some of the basic examples. Notably, the Covenant have discovered how to run Active Camo and Shielding at the same time; attempts by humans to run both systems concurrently result in the shielding itself being visible even though the body enveloped in it is not. Tartarus and the Prophet of Regret were equipped with personal shields. Regret's shield, presumably projected by his Gravity Throne, was very similar to the Bubble Shield. It deflected all forms of projectile, plasma, and explosive weaponry and never depleted. It was also similar in that one could simply walk through the shield; this was what allowed the Master Chief to kill Regret. Tartarus' shield was much different and seemed to have to be activated manually. His shield would deflect almost all attacks from Elites, even Energy Swords; only a Beam Rifle could deplete it. Prior to the Covenant military's adoption of Power Armor, most Brutes did not appear to be equipped with energy shielding.Halo 2, level Gravemind; Cortana: "They don't have shield generators, but take them out before... it's berserking!" The only Covenant vehicles to have shielding are the Locust, Wraith, and Ghost, with the latter two only being equipped with shields after an upgrade. It is odd that the Covenant do not have energy shields on any of their ground and aerial vehicles in the other Halo games (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3). Their ability to create shielding systems for infantry and spacecraft would seem to imply that they could easily create vehicular shielding systems for Wraiths, Banshees, and Ghosts. It is likely that these vehicles only lack shielding in the games, due to balancing reasons. Starship shielding The only known starships to have shields are Covenant ships. Nearly all Covenant vessels are protected by a highly-resistant light grey energy shield that can recharge very quickly. The only flaw in Covenant spacecraft shielding systems is the inability to fire plasma weapons out through the shields; when a starship attempts to fire its plasma weaponry, it must first drop a section of its shields for a fraction of a second. Otherwise, the Plasma Torpedo would detonate inside of the shields.This weakness was demonstrated when a group of Spartans destroyed a Covenant ship in Halo: The Fall of Reach, by entering the ship and planting an explosive. Additionally, a Covenant ship must lower its shields to let dropships out. Covenant spacecraft shielding systems can absorb almost all missile fire, including hundreds of Archer Missiles and even distant detonations from a Shiva nuclear missile (although Shiva warheads will usually deplete the shields, making the ship vulnerable to smaller weapons). The primary UNSC ship-based weapon used to take down Covenant ship shields is the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, which will drain shields in a number of hits dependent on the strength of the shield in question. Smaller, less powerful vessels, such as frigates, will have their shields depleted after one strike, whereas the shields on assault carriers may withstand multiple MAC impacts and still be functional. Regardless of ship class, the UNSC "Super" MACs used in the Orbital Defense Platforms on Reach and Earth will drain the shields and destroy the ship with one shell. Plasma and other energy weapons, on the other hand, can easily disable the shields. Explosions "inside" a starship's shield (that is, between the shield and the ship) are magnified considerably and can inflict massive damage upon a ship. This is because the pressure and heat of such explosions is deflected off of the shields and into the ship, meaning that all of the explosion's power is spent on damaging the ship. Covenant spacecraft shielding systems are also vulnerable to electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), which completely disable the shields. EMPs are a side-effect of nuclear warhead detonations. Forerunner energy shielding 's energy shield.]] In all of the Halo campaigns, the player encounters several Sentinels that are equipped with energy shields, implying that the Covenant's shielding technology was derived from Forerunner technology. Sentinel shields are about as strong as those of a typical Elite. Enforcers are also energy shielded, and their shields can absorb more damage than a normal Sentinel. The shield, which only guards the front area of the machine, is nearly immune to ballistic weapons, similar to the Jackal shield, but is weak against plasma weapons. It is also very strong, capable of withstanding up to three Scorpion shells or two Wraith mortars. In the novel Ghosts of Onyx, a group of Spartan-IIIs encounter a unique type of Sentinel. While most shielding systems are constantly active, the Onyx sentinel must manually activate it shields immediately before contact with a fast-moving projectile in order to deflect it. This leaves Onyx Sentinels vulnerable to slow-moving projectiles, such as rocks, and boarding. Onyx sentinels can combine their shields to make the joint shield more effective. It was also revealed that the Huragok are equipped with a personal energy shield which activates only when they are under duress. Additionally, these Huragok are also able to project an energy shield around their nearby allies, or enhance shielding that is already present. Energy shields in Halo multiplayer 's and Elite's shield recharging in multiplayer.]] *Like in Campaign, shields protect you for a brief amount of time from small arms and weapons. However, gametype settings allow the strength of a shield to be modified or disabled. *Both Elites and Spartans have the same amount of shielding. *A player's shields can be further augmented if they pick up an Overshield. *In Halo 3, with standard gametype settings, energy shields begin regenerating 4.5 seconds after last being hit, and take 1.75 seconds to fully recharge from a total drain. *A Regenerator can be used to make your shields recharge very quickly after taking damage. *If a player deploys a Bubble Shield, they will be protected from weapons fire by a spherical energy shield. *Activating the Deployable Cover will give you a stationary one way shield to hide behind. *Shield doors can be found on several maps and placed in all DLC maps in Forge. Energy shielding in reality No devices of this kind currently exist in a practical form, although the University of Washington and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are exploring separate projects encasing satellites in a plasma "bubble", contained by wire mesh or electromagnetism, to vaporise debris before it can damage the satellite within. However, one known flaw of the plasma "bubble" would be that it isn't designed to protect a biological subject. Were such a system applied to a biological subject, the bubble would overheat and incinerate the occupant of the bubble, as it is made out of charged, superheated gas that would rapidly gain heat as damage was received. The possibility of solid light also fits the criteria. Another possibility in principle for some form of shielding would be a combination of technologies, such as combining certain nanotechnology techniques like carbon nanotubes, a "wall" of lasers, and a thin layer of superheated plasma above it. The carbon nanotubes would be constructed and arrayed into a lattice structure conforming to the shape of the object, and would be capable of withstanding considerable impact, due to the nanotube's great strength. It would also be invisible due to its nanoscopic scale, while the grid of lasers would help vaporize incoming objects that the plasma sheath did not absorb.[[wikipedia:Physics_of_the_Impossible|'Wikipedia': Physics of the Impossible]] Though the shield would work against solid impacts and particle weapons, it would not be able to stop lasers. It would need photochromism, which is the ability of some materials to absorb certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as that possessed by sunglasses to deal with UV light. Though carbon nanotubes do not currently possess this ability, it may be possible to give them this capability. This shield would visually match the typical depictions of shields in science fiction. However, issues of flexibility, weight, energy requirements, heat dissipation, and similar considerations would make this far beyond most foreseeable technologies, though it is not impossible in principle. It should be noted that photochromism isn't an instantaneous process; it takes time to complete, during which enough radiation can penetrate the shielding to damage or kill its occupant. Trivia *The energy shield is always present, even while not under fire. However, under the stress and strain of projectile resistance when under fire, it glows blue/gold in an electrical design around the wearer's body, eventually giving way due to heavy fire. The energy shield is marked as a constant, unwavering protection that covers a Spartan or Elite's entire body, safeguarding the player from any known projectile that isn't more potent than bullets or plasma. *In Halo: Combat Evolved, the shielding that Elites use is slightly stronger than that of a Spartan. Elites' shields only take 70% of the damage that projectile weapons deal out, whereas a Spartan's shielding tends to take full damage. (Case in point: the Spartan shield, with 75 hit points, only takes three shots from the M6D Pistol to break, whereas a Minor Elite's shield, which has 100 hit points, takes 8 shots from the same weapon.) Apparently, this was changed in Halo 2 and 3''; in ''Halo 2, it takes four bursts from a Battle Rifle to break either a Spartan's or a Minor Elite's shield. But, when testing the hit points of the Master Chief in the campaign on Normal, the Master Chief has a lot more health than on multiplayer. (In Halo 2 and 3'', the player's Multiplayer shield is as strong as the Chief's is on Heroic.) *It is never fully explained what happens to the plasma bolts or bullets when they make contact with the Energy Shield; however, it is witnessed that most bullets disappear, plasma always following this, whilst some bullets will bounce off the armor, usually at a 1 out of every 7 ratio (except in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, which had far different gameplay from Halo 2 and 3'', and the only shots that will bounce are that of the needler). *In ''Halo 3, in Campaign, the energy shields of Shielded Flood Combat forms do not flare when taking damage, like the Brute Power Armor. However, other Elite's shields still flare when taking damage. *In Halo 3: ODST, certain Drones are outfitted with personal shields. Gallery File:A Sangheili's Shields.jpg|An Elite's Personal Energy Shield overloading from sustained fire in the Halo: Reach Beta. File:Halo_Reach_UNSC_Shields.jpg|A Spartan III's Personal Energy Shields flicker while taking damage from a Needler round in the Halo: Reach Beta. Halo- Reach - Saber Shields.jpg| The Sabre Energy Shields taking fire, note that we can also see the seraph's shield. Sources Related Pages *MJOLNIR Armor *Elite Personal Energy Shield *Jackal Point Defense Gauntlet *Bubble Shield *Overshields *Regenerator *Stationary Shield Generator *Portable Shield Generator Category:Technology Category:MJOLNIR Armor